


A Book, and a Baseball Bat

by bethy_277



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: A Zombie Apocolypse AU, Angst, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Gen, Hurt, Irondad & Spiderson, Peter has a baseball bat, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, like Tony has a gun, not a lot so I didn't tag it as such but it is a Zombie AU, there is some violence in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:00:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23843407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethy_277/pseuds/bethy_277
Summary: A Tony Stark & Peter Parker Zombie AU.-“A book? Peter, what exactly are we going to do with a book?” Tony asked and Peter scowled at him.“We could hit someone with it?”“I don’t think we will want to get that close to them kid.”“Well, what do you have?” Peter asked as he put his backpack onto his back, after pulling out both the mentioned book and baseball bat.-A gift for the Friendly Neighborhood Fic Exchange
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66
Collections: The Friendly Neighborhood Exchange





	A Book, and a Baseball Bat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [edgar_allen_bro](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=edgar_allen_bro).



> Okay, so this is honestly not an AU I ever imagined that i would write but out of the three prompts I was given, the one that I felt like I could write the best so I hope my giftee enjoys! :) 
> 
> Keep in mind- there is a bit of gun violence in this as it is a Zombie AU. It's nothing serious, nothing graphic so I didn't tag it as major violence, but that is the warning.
> 
> Also, I have been to NYC and am very aware that this is geographically incorrect, but lets just go with it for the sake of the fic.

“Mr Stark- are you watching the news?” Peter asked as he rushed into the lab at Stark Labs on a sunny Friday afternoon. 

“Pete! I thought i told you to stay indoors.” Tony jerked around from where he was staring at the tv to see the teenager. Peter threw his backpack onto the ground next to the table and rushed over to the tv. 

Tony had been watching it very attentively over the past week when it had appeared that something was happening in the city. He had forced his wife Pepper and her assistant Happy to head to DC to get away from whatever it was that was happening, but he had opted to stay in the city himself to keep an eye on the business and to keep tabs on Peter. The kid was his favorite assistant and didn’t really understand when it came to his own self preservation and had just ignored Tony’s instructions to stay home to come over to the Lab. 

“Yeah, but do you see what’s happening? This is like a Zombie Apocalypse or something. It’s bad! And May told me to come here as it’s likely safer than the apartment.”

“Um excuse me? Likely safer? it is absolutely safer here than that apartment that your aunt refuses to let me try to upgrade-” Tony cut off at the shit eating grin Peter gave him and glared instead.

“I knew that would get you riled up. And May is stuck at work, so she told me to get here so I’d be with another adult. But it’s fine, I avoided people. But really Mr Stark, there are people walking outside like zombies, like scuffing their feet and everything and moaning.”

“You’ve watched too many zombie movies kid.” Tony replied as he looked back at the tv. 

The news reporters were speaking quickly as they showed images from the streets of the city. Tony could see that Peter hadn’t been wrong, there were numerous groups of people walking around the streets, dragging their feet and bumping into things. 

“I have not.” Peter protested. “Besides it’s always Ned who is interested in them.” 

“Where is your friend? And that MJ girl?” Tony asked as he thought about the other teenagers. If there really was something going on, he knew Peter would risk his safety to get to his friends and he couldn’t let that happen.

“They both left the city a few hours ago with their families, and some of the other Decathalon people.” Peter replied. “Ned wanted me to go with them but I wanted to stay I don’t want to leave the city when you and May are both still here.”

“Good. That’s good. Not that there is anything going on. Just someone playing a joke, and getting the whole city in on it.” Tony replied as he glanced back down at his desk- he had been working on a new upgrade to the new health equipment that the labs had just recently put out, and already needed upgrading. The equipment had been a project that Tony and Peter had been working on, and as such, Tony was extremely protective of it and refused to let anyone else have their hands on it. 

“I’m not sure about that Mr Stark.” Peter’s voice caused Tony to look back over at him and then over at the tv. The words “New York City on Lockdown” scrolled across the bottom and he reached over to unmute it.

_ “New York City authorities are very uncertain as to exactly what is happening in the city but as of 10 minutes ago, they made the decision to close all of the entrances and exits out of the city- this includes the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island as well as Long Island. The airports are closed, the ports are closed, the subway has closed and all of the highways and roads have been blocked off with National Guard standing by preventing all attempts to exit, or enter the city. We will keep you updated on the situation as it progresses and more information is available.”  _

“Well shit.” Tony said as he muted the tv again. There were more pictures and videos scrolling across the screen from various areas throughout the city as he stared at it. 

His phone buzzed and he glanced down to see Pepper calling him. Peter was already on his phone by the door and Tony answered his.

_ “ _ Hi Honey.”

“Tony! You have to get out of the city.”

“It’s a little late for that unfortunately. They locked the city down.”

__ “Happy was talking to one of his friends and they think it’s a-” Pepper hesitated for a moment before continuing, “they think it’s a zombie outbreak.”

“Pep-” Tony started before she interrupted him.

“I know that sounds crazy but that is what they are saying. You need to somehow get out of there.”

“Uh- Mr Stark?” Peter sounded hesitant from where he was now standing by one of the windows. 

Tony kept the phone to his ear as he headed over to the window to see what the teenager was looking at, and nearly dropped the phone. A group of people had broken through the fence surrounding the lab and were heading towards the front door. Tony and Peter were on the third level and in a corner of the building, but even the fortified front doors wouldn’t hold them off for that long.

“Tony?” Pepper’s voice broke into Tony’s shock and he readjusted the phone by his ear.

“Yep, i’m here. Listen Pep, I think i’m going to have to go. There seems to be a group of people intent on storming the labs. I’ve got Peter with me.”

“Tony, wait. Jim is here, and he says he can get one of the aircraft over to you. It’ll take him a few hours.” Pepper shot back. “Can you stay there?”

“That’s a no.” Tony said as he watched the group reach the front door and then heard glass shattering. “They’re already breaking the glass, they’ll be here shortly.” 

“You have those trackers you made though right?” Pepper asked and Tony replied back with a yes. 

He had experienced an almost kidnapping attempt of Pepper only a few months before, and had outfitted trackers for himself, Pepper, May, Happy and Peter after that. They were all installed into various items- a watch and cufflinks for the three men, and a necklace and ring for both of the women. May had been given some after Peter had begged Tony for them, and he didn’t want to turn the kid down. “Wear those, we’ll track you wherever you are.” 

“Sounds good.” Tony replied. “I have to go.”

“Be safe honey. I love you. We’ll see you soon.” Pepper said, her voice having turned what sounded like upset to Tony. He quickly hung up before he could get upset himself. 

He was already running through scenarios in his head about how to get himself and Peter out of this. Step 1 was getting out of the lab and away from the populated area of Manhattan and then they could focus on getting somewhere where the plane that his best friend Jim could bring without the problem of the- zombies- getting it down. 

Tony turned from the window to grab his watch from the table. One glance at Peter’s wrist showed that he also had his own on. Tony grabbed his bag from the floor and started throwing things into it, including his phone and water bottles that were spread about the lab. 

“Kid, what do you have in your backpack?” He called out to Peter who turned from the window. The teenagers face was pale and he looked frightened. In any other situation, Tony would have tried to reassure him, but he didn’t have the time. A zombie apocalypse wasn’t exactly something he could have imagined experiencing in his lifetime, but here they were. “Pete.”

“Um, a baseball bat, a book, some of May’s stuff, some clothes.” Peter replied.

“A book? Peter, what exactly are we going to do with a book?” Tony asked and Peter scowled at him.

“We could hit someone with it?”

“I don’t think we will want to get that close to them kid.”

“Well, what do you have?” Peter asked as he put his backpack onto his back, after pulling out both the mentioned book and baseball bat.

“This.” Tony walked over to one of the cabinets and yanked the doors open after punching in a code, showing Peter the arsenal he had there. 

“What?!” Peter’s jaw dropped open as Tony started to pull items off the shelves and dropped them into his backpack. “Mr Stark! Why do you have all this?”

“Peter, I own a very well-renowned and successful lab. We’ve had many a break-in here.”

“Right, but you have security.” Peter protested. 

“Can we talk about this later?” Tony asked as he slammed the doors shut as noises sounded down the hall. “Gun?” He held out a gun to Peter who shook his head.

“We can’t shoot them! They are people!” 

“Peter. This is, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, some sort of Zombie invasion. They aren’t going to be caring about you.” Tony replied, and Peter shook his head again. 

“Fine. Don’t come crying to me if they get you.” Tony sighed. He knew that he would never actually let that happen. 

There were loud thuds outside the room and then screaming.

“Okay, time to go.” Tony said hurriedly and Peter nodded as the two of them both headed to the door. Tony put a hand on the handle and turned to the teenager, the book in one hand and baseball hand in the other.

“You stay with me okay? I’m going to get us out of here but you need to stay on my ass, got it? No stopping for anything, not even to help anyone. You stop, they could get you. We have no idea what is going on, and how people got sick. You cannot risk anything to stop. Got it?!”

Peter nodded seriously as he adjusted his backpack straps and Tony adjusted his. He opened the door and the two of them rushed into the hallway. People were sprinting past them and he felt Peter take a fistful of his shirt, the baseball bat digging into his back as they moved. One glance down the hallway showed a group of zombies headed towards them, moving at a decent pace. 

Tony stepped forward, towards the stairwell that he knew was secret. He had designed the whole building with secret entrances and exits and stairwells that no one knew about. 

As he rushed forward, another glance down a different hallway showed another group headed towards them. A person with a lab jacket on came running down the hallway and Tony felt Peter jerk slightly as she ran into him before moving on. Tony reached the wall and pulled out the keypad to type in the code. 

“Take that!” Peter’s voice broke into his typing and he glanced up to see the book Peter had brought lying on the ground next to a zombie who had approached the two of them. “It was useful!” Peter shot at Tony who shook his head to type the rest of the code.

“Not the time Peter.” He shot back as the keypad beeped and the door slid open. He yanked Peter through and slammed the door closed behind them, just in time for the zombie to be stopped from reaching them.

Peter slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground panting and Tony sat down next to him, his heart racing. They could afford a few minutes before they had to head down the stairs and away from the building. 

“This is actually real Mr Stark.” Peter said after a few moments of silence, apart from the pounding on the other side of the wall from people trying to get in. The keypad would have slid back into the wall so there was no way they were getting through. “This is an actual, real life zombie apocalypse.” 

“It is kid.” Tony agreed before a thought popped into his head. “Where’s May?” 

“Her team got out before the lockdown- they were warned about 10 minutes before it happened and were able to all get into a few cars together and got out. She had to go with them, they wouldn’t let her go anywhere else or come to me, or even let me know before they left. I spoke to her before we left the lab, they’re headed to New Jersey.” Peter answered.

“Okay good.” Tony replied. He was beyond relieved that he had made Pepper and Happy leave, and that both his and Peter’s loved ones were all out of the city and safe. Now he just had to get himself and Peter to safety.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Peter asked. “They are going to be everywhere.”

“We’re on the outskirts of Manhattan right? If we can get to the edge, it’s forestested and secluded. Rhodey is coming with a plane so we need to get somewhere that he can land the plane, we only need a few hours until then.” Tony replied. He waited a few moments before standing back up, his gun back in his hand. “Ready?”

“Nope.” Peter said as he got up. His book was gone but he was still holding onto the baseball bat.

“Still no gun?” Tony asked and Peter shook his head.

“My book saved us back there. I’ll keep my bat.” 

“I won’t argue with you, but a gun would be safer, kid.” Tony replied as he headed towards the stairway. Peter followed behind him, and the two of them headed down the stairs, Tony with the gun held up. The doors were designed to be hidden but he wouldn’t put it past the infected to get through the walls, and he didn’t want to mess around and wait. 

Their footsteps echoed throughout the stairway as the two of them headed downstairs, and to the door that Tony knew led to the outside of the building. He hadn’t ever had to use these stairs, or the door but still knew exactly where it was, having designed the place. 

“Okay.” He said as they reached the door and he put a hand on the handle. The door was solid without any windows nearby so he didn’t know what was going to be out there. “We’re going to head straight for the forested area. It’s a good ten miles walk, so we’re going to have to move fast, okay?” Tony asked Peter who nodded seriously. He had a hat on his head where Tony had no idea had come from but wasn’t going to question it. 

He pulled the door open and glanced out of the door, not seeing anyone nearby. When he listened, he could hear screams and loud noises from the other side of the building. 

“Stay with me Peter. You fall behind me, yell, okay? I’m not going to be looking back.” Tony instructed Peter who nodded.

“I’ll stay with you.” 

“Lets go.” Tony stepped out of the door, hearing Peter coming behind him and then the door slammed shut. The loud clang caused him to look around to see if anyone heard.    
“Sorry!” Peter called out and Tony shushed him.

“Quiet. Quiet unless you fall behind or you need me.” 

Tony turned back around and started forward towards where he knew the forested area was. He knew beyond the forest that there was a laid out area that Rhodey would be able to land at, and they would be able to get out of the city- they just needed to get there. 

-

The two of them were able to walk for a little while before Peter called out from behind Tony. They were about halfway to the area, and there was a group heading directly towards them, approaching quickly.

“Shit.” Tony swore as the group approached. He knew he wasn’t a very fast runner, and he would hold Peter back. 

“Uh Mr Stark, do you think we should run?” Peter reached Tony’s side and the two of them automatically picked up the pace. 

“Can you run?” Tony asked, and Peter scoffed.

“Yes. Can you?” Peter snarked back at him. 

“Okay, lets go.” Tony instructed Peter and then started running. His backpack thumped on his back as he ran, and he gripped the straps as much as he could. He could hear Peter right next to him as they rushed through the forest ,the twigs and leaves beneath them snapping as they ran. 

His legs started protesting pretty quickly into the run and he tried to keep pushing. Peter was close behind him as they raced, and he could hear the sounds of the zombies from further behind them, approaching quickly. 

Tony didn’t know how long they had been running when he started to falter. He wasn’t a very young man and he hadn’t run this long in a long time. He tripped as his legs gave out, and Peter was there to grab his arm and keep him up. 

“Mr Stark!” Peter called out and Tony gasped for air.

“You need to keep going. The plane will be there for you.” Tony instructed Peter who shook his head.

“No Mr Stark, look.” Peter pointed to the right of Tony and he looked over to see horses. 

“Peter, those are probably wild. We aren’t going to be able to ride them. Have you ever even ridden a horse before?” Tony replied even as he started to walk over to where the horses were.

“Not the time.” Peter pointed out and Tony glanced back to see that the group of zombies had gotten bigger, and closer. Tony put his legs back in motion and the two of them sprinted for the horses. Tony had ridden before and knew how to ride without a saddle or reins, but he didn’t know about Peter.

Tony headed straight for a mare that was by the closest tree. As he got closer it whinnied but didn’t move away from him. He noticed a stump that was right next to the horse and headed straight for it, to get up onto the back of the horse. He was able to get onto the back without the horse reacting, and then had to hold onto the neck as hard as he could when the horse reared. He managed to hold on and then the horse started running.

“Peter!” He yelled out as the horse started running, unable to see the teenager behind him.

“I’m with you!” He heard Peter cry out from behind him as the scenery started blurring with the speed that the horse was going. He heard other hooves, and Peter’s horse ran past, the teenager clinging to the neck as they ran.

“Keep it straight!” Tony cried out as they raced through the woods. The branches from the trees whipped Tony in the face as he tried to hold onto the horse. He had no idea where the group of zombies were, but hoped that they were far behind them. 

The two of them eventually came out into the open field that Tony had been looking for and Tony knew he needed to stop the horse before they completely passed it by. He tried to sit up so that he could squeeze his legs to try to stop the horse. 

The first attempt led to him nearly falling off followed by a similar second attempt. The third attempt finally allowed him to sit up, and get the horse to slow down enough that he felt comfortable jumping off. 

When he hit the ground, he searched around for Peter. The teenager was sitting on the ground, his horse missing and Tony jogged over to him.

“You okay?” He asked Peter, who seemed to be holding his shoulder with a grimace on his face.

“Fell off.” Peter got out as he clutched at his shoulder. “I think it’s dislocated.” 

Tony reached down to grab Peter’s other arm to help him up onto his feet. The boy still held the baseball bat in his hand, and his backpack still on his back. 

“I don’t know when Rhodey will get here, but we need to make sure we can get safe if anyone shows up.” Tony told Peter who nodded. “We’re going to need to put your shoulder back in.”

“Can you do that?” Peter asked, giving Tony a concerned look. 

“I can.” Tony replied. In his younger days, he had been quite wild with Rhodey and they had dislocated and broken quite a few bones. “Brace against that tree. This will be rough.” Tony instructed Peter who leaned against the tree that Tony pointed to, and then as quickly as possible, Tony pulled on Peter’s shoulder and pulled it back into place.

“OH MY GOD.” Peter cried out as his shoulder popped back into place and Tony let it go again. Peter leant against the tree as he panted and Tony patted him on the other shoulder. 

A snap behind him caused Tony to look around to see a group headed towards them, and he steadied the gun in his hand.

“How did they get here so fast?” Peter panted out from behind him and Tony found himself wondering that too. The horses had been fast and had traversed a few miles incredibly quickly. Peter pushed himself up away from the tree and gripped the baseball bat in his hands, but Tony didn’t miss the grimace across his face as he did so. 

The next few minutes were a blur for Tony, as the two of them battled against the zombies. At one point, Tony saw a baseball bat go flying and Peter chase after it, and then in another, the teenager ran past him the other way. He focused on the gun on his hand, and getting rid of as many zombies as he could, while keeping as much attention on Peter as he could safely. He didn’t know how long they had been battling when he heard the roar of an airplane and the grey plane came into view.

“Tony!” Rhodey’s voice came out through the area as the plane flew closer to the ground. “I can’t land, you’ll have to run for the ramp.” 

As if on cue, the ramp for the plane started to open from the back, and Rhodey kept above the ground. Tony looked around for Peter to see him bashing a zombie with the damaged, splintered bat in his hand. He dispatched the closest zombie to him and grabbed onto Peter’s shirt. He had somehow lost his backpack in the chaos. Peter jerked around when Tony grabbed him, looking like he was ready to hit Tony, but he relaxed when he realized who it was.

“Go. Now.” Tony pushed Peter in front of him, the two of them headed directly for the plane. A hand tried to grab his arm and Tony fired the gun without looking. As they ran for the plane, Rhodey lowered down further so the ramp had easier access. Another hand yanked Tony back and he lost his grip on Peter as he fell. Peter turned around and Tony motioned him forward

“Go.” Peter hesitated and Tony screamed again. “Go. I’ll follow.”

Peter turned around and kept running for the plane ramp while Tony spun around to the zombie that had yanked him down. The gun was still in his hand and he fired, causing the zombie to fall back. He tried to fire again, but the gun clicked empty. 

He pulled himself up onto his feet and ran instead. Peter had reached the ramp and was already on it as the plane rose up slowly. He put a hand out to Tony who reached up and grabbed it, trying to pull himself up. 

Peter scrambled backwards on the ramp, pulling Tony up as he dangled in mid-air. Tony’s hands were sweaty and he felt himself slip slightly before Peter got a better grip and yanked Tony hard until they both went sprawling back into the plane.

“Close it.” Peter called out and as Tony got himself up into a seated position, he could see the ramp closing on the plane as they rose up from the ground. The plane didn’t have any windows so he couldn’t see the remaining group down below them. 

“You okay?” Tony asked Peter who sat back against the wall of the plane, gripping at his shoulder.

“You’re heavy.” Peter replied, and Tony let out an involuntary bark of laughter in surprise.

“Hey.” Rhodey called out from the cockpit and Tony stood up to head toward his friend. He glanced back to Peter who now had his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall.

“Perfect timing.” Tony told Rhodey as he sat down next to him. 

“Pepper will be glad to know I got to you. Might want to give her a call.” Rhodey said and Tony shrugged.

“Lost my phone.” His phone had been in his backpack, and he had no idea when he had lost that. 

“Mine is in there.” Rhodey motioned to the space between the two seats and Tony nodded.

“I will in a moment. We owe our lives to you.” 

“Would have never let you two die. I don’t know the kid that well, but still. That down there is crazy. It’s apparently the whole city, but only the city.” Rhodey answered. “Everything is shut down while they try to contain it, but it’s bad Tony. You’re lucky you have friends in the Air Force else we would not have been able to get you out. I may have taken this without approval.”

“Colonel Rhodes! Look at you!” Tony exclaimed in exaggerated excitement. “Breaking the rules.”

“The kid alright?” Rhodey changed the subject and Tony glanced back to see that Peter had slumped over onto the floor, his eyes closed.

“Pete?” Tony called out

“Just tired.” Peter called back and Tony nodded.

“Okay, lets get you to DC.” Rhodey said and Tony nodded, as he grabbed Rhodey’s phone to give Pepper a call. He would remind Peter to call May in a little while. 

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you all enjoyed? Please let me know.  
> Keep in mind, I have never seen a single episode of anything zombie related- ie Walking Dead (my college roommate watched it and it was far too graphic for me), or seen any Zombie movie besides Shaun of the Dead, which I don't really think counts...


End file.
